Private Markets, Elon, Crypto, Big Tech Compensation, NBA Player Media Wars
Stretch Four Insights Volume 22
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Happy Saturday everyone,
We are back to our Saturday afternoon drops and I hope you are having a relaxing weekend wherever you are. This was my third full week back to work and Whitney and I are still trying to figure out our new parenthood life.
Being back in an office is quite refreshing. I miss being home with the wifey and newborn but I would have to say my productivity and ability to get things done have increased a ton. According to reports, San Francisco is seeing about 35% of the weekly office attendance. It feels a bit like normal. Happy hours are happening after work and meeting rooms are filling up in my WeWork (I wonder if WeCrashed, helped WeWork membership numbers?).
This week I will recap:
Invest Like the Best Episode recap featuring Carta CEO and Founder Henry Ward
My favorite articles on Elon Musk’s purchase or expected purchase of Twitter
Two Crypto reads, yes I am aping back into Crypto so expect more here
Some reads on the talent, hiring, and fundraising climate — things are weird right now
The NBA players versus traditional media war that is getting more toxic by the week
Podcast Reviews
Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy Henry Ward - Transforming Private Markets
As a startup founder, Carta has become a staple in regards to managing your cap table. This was an interesting interview as Carta has built a wedge with its cap table product and has now expanded to sell to investors, public companies, and compensation teams. Henry Ward is a controversial figure here in the valley. He has had interesting perspectives and many consider Carta to now be a legacy product where they are seeing disruption from all angles of their business. The interview gives an insider view into how Ward runs Carta, where he is planning to go next, and what he is optimistic about for the future including more debt products and obviously expanding the private market liquidity pool.
Elon, Elon, and more Elon
Why Would Elon Musk Want to Buy Twitter?
Twitter was always primed for disruption and dysfunction has been a part of its business from the beginning. This article sheds light on how Tesla’s meteoric rise gave Musk what he needs to do what all billionaires eventually do... buy a media company. Musk wants a “free-flowing” Twitter where the far right and left can say what they want without censorship, and as this piece explains, he can’t be canceled.
The Shadow Crew Who Encouraged Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover
Elon Musk was seemingly driven to purchase Twitter by his friends. This piece from WSJ claims this and connects the dots on why Musk would want to purchase the company. It seems like Jack Dorsey has played a key role in helping put the bug in Elon’s early to buy Twitter. The irony is twofold: Dorsey has been very negative of Twitter’s current board and has spent time with Elon over the past two years. The end game seems to always have been getting Twitter private, and we may be days away from that.
Crypto
A $3 Billion Silk Road Seizure Will Erase Ross Ulbricht’s Debt
Ross Ulbricht is, to me, the OG in crypto. I’ve previously written about the fact I have a special energy for his story and this piece talks about the huge break he caught this week. It covers the developing story that Ulbricht had his restitution covered by a seizure of, more ill-gotten crypto assets, this should not be a shocker. Another key factor exposed here is these ill-gotten gains were again traced down by the IRS, not unlike Ulbricht himself. This continues to beg the question: how is the immutable blockchain so easily traceable by an institution that lacks so many resources like the IRS?
It’s okay to opt-out of the crypto revolution
Local SF designer and writer Rebecca Ackermann published a long piece in the Technology Review designed to give you peace if you have not yet “Aped” into crypto yet. Her thesis is ‘we are not all going to make it’ and that not unlike the US dollar .01% of bitcoin holders control 27% of bitcoin assets. Her point is that the craze is pretty much late-stage capitalism masquerading as financial freedom and equality for the masses. With so much money pouring into crypto we have to take it seriously, but her point is we can opt out of the craziness and not feel like we are missing out.
Talent & Hiring
How job-hopping is disrupting pay equity
This piece from protocol highlights a booming market: companies overhauling compensation systems. It highlights companies like Credit Karma which spent $15M to overhaul their compensation and led to 98% of employees receiving raises. It speaks to how competitive the market is right now for top talent and with a flat and falling public market for technology stocks it will be interesting to see what happens across the board with pay equity, general compensation, bonuses, and inflation in the next 6-12 months.
The NBA players vs. The Media
KD attacked Charles Barkley on Instagram this week, and everyone loses their mind for a day. One of the more interesting things I have monitored that is happening in the NBA in the few years is how many of the top players are launching their own media brands while shunning and sometimes outright taking shots at mainstream traditional media personalities. KD’s assault on Barkley is somewhat warranted. Many ex-NBA players had great careers, but guys like KD and Lebron are in the top 10 class of all-time greats but under a different level of scrutiny because we are in the social media era.
Draymond Green questions Bill Simmons’ voting eligibility after his ‘F--k Jalen Green’ comment
Draymond Green attacked Bill Simmons on his podcast keeping with the theme of NBA players building their own media brands. I thought this take was a bit of a reach. I am myself a Bill Simmons fan and sometimes his takes are off-putting but I respect the time he has put into honing his craft and being a student of the game. Draymond is playing a smart game by punching up. In this game, he is taking shots at established media personalities like Simmons as he builds out his own media empire. He has set a goal to become a billionaire by forty and plans to make far more money in media than he has made playing basketball.
Kyrie attacks Stephen A Smith on Twitter. A few days after a disappointing sweep Irving woke up and chose violence and took shots at Stephen A Smith on Twitter. While Kyrie did not mention any particular names, he went on to say his name is worth billions to media outlets and made other claims about “puppet masters” in society. Kyrie is an interesting figure and he seems to become more outspoken on how he feels about how the media covers his story, I expect Kyrie launches a podcast this summer.
Another plug to a great new NBA player media venture is Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner’s Point Forward podcast, this week they interviewed their old teammate Jrue Holiday.
What’s next
That is all for the week.
Check back Wednesday for the next edition of the Long Four.
Back to the trenches.